You're A Mean One
by Mrs.Randista
Summary: John hates Christmas. Wants nothing to do with it. But will he be able to see how much his dislike is hurting his relationship with Randy before it's too late? Centon Slash


**AN: **_So I know that Christmas has come and past already. But for me the Christmas season isn't officially over until New Years. I started this and planned for it to be done before Thursday, but it got longer and I became busy so it was not finished in time to be out before Christmas. But I love it so much, I'm going to put it out now anyway. I hope you guys like it as much as I do!_

* * *

><p>John hated Christmas. No, he didn't just hate it. He despised it. He abhorred it. Other holidays he could stand. He didn't mind Halloween. He actually really liked Halloween. Free candy, dressing up as something your not, it was fun and simple. Hell, he could even stand Valentines Day. Sure there was a lot of gooey romantic stuff, but Randy understood he just wasn't that into the lovey dovey shit. So Randy gladly accepted the box of chocolates and dinner date that he received every Valentines Day, and John gladly accepted the mind blowing sex he got in return.<p>

But Christmas, it was a complete scam. All of the wasted money on the decorations like fugly ornaments, fuglier trees, and the fugliest sweaters known to mankind. Then there was also the ridiculous amount of money spent on gifts people didn't even like.

They would smile and go on and on gushing about how wonderful the gift was and how much they loved it, but the moment the gift giver turned their back it was thrown into the basement or garage or re-gifted in ten seconds flat.

Don't even get him started on how much the fake holiday cheer pissed him off.

Yeah, he was a bit of a Grinch. But he didn't care because it was his favorite movie (up until the Grinch's heart grew of course, but he just pretended it didn't happen and that Whoville was forever deprived of Christmas).

Of course Randy knew how much he hated the holiday considering they had been together for what seemed like an eternity (okay it had only been five years, but it felt like forever). But in the complete opposite fashion, Randy loved everything about Christmas. He wore the ugly sweaters. He sang the stupid jingles. Their house smelt of pine and sugar cookies for the entire month of December. The man was obsessed.

So John shouldn't have been surprised at all that he was currently sitting in the middle of a mall in a fat Santa suit pretending to be full of holiday cheer. He might not have been surprised, but he sure as hell was angry.

"I still don't understand why the hell I have to be Santa!" Randy shot him and death glare from his spot beside him before he went back to arranging a pile of candy canes. "It doesn't make sense. I'm not even fat or anything. Big Show should be sitting here!"

Randy sighed and turned to him. "The kids don't love Big Show, they love you. So just put on your happy face and be jolly. This should open at any minute, so get ready to spread some holiday cheer. And don't fuck this up. You promised me you would be on your best behavior."

"No, that's not fair. I told you all agreements made in the middle of any sexual act or post orgasm are void the next day." Randy just ignored him.

* * *

><p>Four hours later John was in a slightly better mood. He couldn't lie and say he didn't love meeting his young fans. He just wished it wasn't under the pretense of him being Santa's close friend who was sent to ask the young members of Cenation what they wanted for Christmas.<p>

It also did help that Randy was dressed as one of Santa's little helpers and his ass looked amazing in the green tights.

"See baby, I told you it wouldn't be that bad." Randy said as he unlocked the door to their house, stepped inside and placed his coat on the rack.

John slowly trudged in behind him and immediately ripped of the Santa suit once he was inside the house. "It might not have been that bad, but it was still bad."

Once again Randy ignored him as he traveled upstairs and John trudged into the kitchen, grabbed a beer out of the fridge and plopped down on in his recliner in the living room in front of the TV.

When Randy made his way back down he paused in the doorway and stared at the boxer clad John. "Like what you see?" John asked pointing to his shirtless chest. Randy smirked and walked into the living room and straddled John.

"No, I love what I see." Randy dipped his head down to connect their mouths and John placed his beer down on the side table so he could wrap his arms around Randy, but Randy pulled away. "As much as I would love to fuck right here right now, I can't." He said as he stood back up.

"What the hell Ran? What's so important that you're going to sentence me to death by way of blue balls?"

"I still have some last minute Christmas shopping to get done. There are still some little things I have to get including your mother's gift and Mike's gift." Randy said as he walked over to retrieve his keys from where he dropped them earlier. It was then that John realized that Randy had changed out of his helper attire and into normal clothes.

"Why are you getting a gift for Mizanin?"

Randy just stared at John until he realized that John honestly had no clue. "He's the person you have for Secret Santa!"

"Oh, forgot about that. Thanks babe. But do you have to leave now? Christmas is still like two days away."

"No, we're exchanging gifts on Christmas Eve at the Christmas dinner you refuse to go to. So that means that today is my last day to get some shopping done. And I already told Jake that I would meet him because he still has some last minute things to pick up too." Randy said as he inched closer to the door.

"Who is Jake and why are you shopping with him?"

"Are you serious John?" The blank stare he received said it all. But suddenly an informed light shone in John's eyes.

"You mean the Swagger kid!"

"John, you know that's not his name."

"Why are you going shopping with him? When did you two become all buddy buddy?" John sat up in his chair trying to feign nonchalance but he was really curious.

"This may come as a surprise to you babe, but some people actually care about Christmas, and he's one of those people. Now I'm leaving. I should be back in a few hours, love ya, bye!"

John stared in shock as the door closed behind Randy and he heard Randy's car start and pull out of the driveway. He didn't care, he told himself as he began flipping through the channels. He was just glad Randy wasn't dragging him off Christmas shopping.

* * *

><p>"Why are we doing this? I don't want to do this tonight babe, he's a lost case. Why can't we just forget about him? And could you please stop drooling like I'm not right here?"<p>

"It all makes sense now. If I was Randy, I'd totally stay with the Grinch if he was stacked like this."

"Can we just get this over with please?"

John slowly opened his eyes and rolled his head over to where he swore voiced were coming from. When he saw what seemed to be Cody and Ted arguing in a corner he jumped up out of his seat. "What the hell are you guys doing here? How did you get in? Get out!"

"Look now he noticed us, so we have to help him!" Cody squealed as he came closer but the closer he came the more confused John grew. While it did look like Cody physically and he swore it was Cody's face, John couldn't understand why he and Ted were wearing the ugliest of ugly Christmas sweaters. And they were wearing antlers on their heads and Cody even went as far as to have a glowing red nose.

"Cody, you do realize that you don't dress up on Christmas like you do for Halloween right?"

"Yes, silly."

"Then what's with the outfits?"

"I guess we should explain everything to you." Cody said as he sat on one of the couches and Ted followed behind him. "But I would advise you sit down first" When John cautiously sat back down Cody began. "I'm not really Cody, and he's not really Ted. Well okay we are, but we aren't the Cody and Ted you know. We're the ghosts from Christmas Future!"

"Codes, no one ever believes it when you explain it like that!"

"But it's the truth. It's who we are Teddy!"

John just stared at the two of them as they continued to bicker back and forth and wondered to himself if he was dreaming and why Randy wasn't back yet.

"Now what Cody meant to tell you is that we are here to attempt to bring some Christmas cheer into your life. You are on the Grinch list this year so it's our job to change that by making you see how your lack of Christmas cheer will affect you future. See, that's how you explain it to them Cody."

"I appreciate the help and all guys, but I can guarantee you that my lack of Christmas cheer can only better my life not make it worse."

"Is that so John?" The not really Cody asked.

"Yes that is so."

"Then where's Randy, John?" This time it was the not really Ted.

"I don't know…off shopping." John mumbled.

"Who is he shopping with John?" Not really Cody again.

"I don't know the Swagger kid? Is something going on? Did Randy tell you something? Is he cheating on me with that kid? Because I swear if he is I will rip-"

"I think it'll be best if we just showed you this." The not really Ted said as he stood up and began dragging John out of his recliner and out of the door.

"Where the hell are you taking me? Could you at least let me get some clothes first?"

"Trust me you won't need them." John stopped and glared at the not really Cody who was ogling him.

"What he means is that no one will see you." Not really Ted said as he once again began dragging John out of the door.

* * *

><p>"Where are we?" John asked as they suddenly appeared in what seemed to be a living room.<p>

"We're bending the rules for you, in order for you to better understand the jeopardy of your future, we're going to show you something that's happened in the recent past."

As not really Ted (or Christmas Ted) spoke, John quickly became of two people who appeared in the living room in front of them.

There were all different sorts of wrapping paper and tape cluttering the floor. And just as cliché as John thought, the fireplace was roaring and there was a bottle of wine and two glasses also on the floor.

What he wasn't expecting was for the two men sitting on the floor to be Randy and the Swagger kid. They were chatting while they both set about wrapping their respective gifts.

"This is what you wanted to show me? Please, I'm glad Randy found someone to wrap these things with, now I won't have to help him and hear him bitch and complain about how I don't do it right and I also don't have to hear him complain about how I just sat on my ass while he did all of the work."

"Just keep watching." Christmas Cody said with a deep sigh. John glared at him, but shifted his attention as the talking between the two men on the floor became audible.

"_And suddenly I'm being chased by twenty kids screaming about how I was an imposter and I was trying to steal their toys and ruin their Christmas!" Randy clutched his chest as he laughed. "Ha, ha Orton, laugh at the poor guy who was almost killed because he agreed to play Santa and deliver toys to kids in a group home." _

"_Oh please if the roles were reversed you would have been laughing just as hard as I was." Randy said as he put the finishing bow on the last gift he had wrapped. "And now I'm all done. Everything is wrapped and ready! Now after the excitement of seeing everyone's faces when they open their gifts pass it'll be all downhill from there and then Christmas will be over." _

_Jake nodded his head, "The most wonderful time of the year is almost over." _

"_As sad as it makes me to think that, on the bright side, John will finally stop acting like something crawled up his ass and died. Then I get to have my amazing boyfriend back." Randy said as he picked up his glass of wine and took a sip. _

"_Does he get all Grinch like every Christmas?" _

"_He has for as long as I've known him, and I've known him a long time. I have no clue what triggered him to hate the holiday so much. He's normally just perfect, but like clockwork every year right after Thanksgiving up until the day after Christmas he becomes a nightmare." _

"_It's weird especially considering how much you love the holiday. I don't understand how he could hate it when it brings people like you and me such joy." _

"_I just chalk it up as being one of his faults. I'm pretty sure it's his only fault. But whatever, I can't expect him to be absolutely prefect." Randy dropped his head staring intently at the carpet, but Jake's eyes continued to stare intently at him only looking away when Randy looked back up, sensing he was being watched. "Hell of a job you're doing there with that wrapping." He said pointing at the toy Jake had failed miserably at wrapping. _

"_You know I'm not normally this bad at this, it's just they put these damn things in the weirdest shapes. How the hell is someone supposed to wrap this?" _

_Randy laughed and moved from his spot on the floor so that he was sitting directly in front of Jake and took the toy out of his hands. Then with quick, agile and nimble hands, Randy had the toy wrapped in two minutes flat. "And that my friend is how it's done." He said with a smug smirk as he placed the gift back on the floor. _

_But without his hands occupied and a task to focus on, Randy was suddenly aware of how close he was to Jake. The silence between the two of them was thick as they just stared at each other. And suddenly by way of someone's movement, each was unsure of who moved first, their mouths connected. _

It was then that John broke out of his stupor and ran forward intent on knocking Jake over only to fin that his hands just went straight through him.

"It's the past, it's happened already. There's nothing you can do about it." Christmas Ted said.

"Why the hell are you guys showing me this? And why the hell did it stop? I want to know what happened afterwards!" John said as he turned and stalked back to the pair.

"Our ability with the past is very limited. That is all we can show you, but now we're going to show you some of the actual future, which you do have the power to change." Christmas Cody said as he grabbed on to John's right arm.

Everything began to get blurry and suddenly there was another scene playing in front of them.

It was a large banquet hall and John recognized a lot of the people he worked with there so he guessed it was the Christmas dinner he planned on skipping the next day. But as people moved around talking and laughing with each other, John's eyes were almost immediately drawn to where Randy was sitting alone at a table.

_He silently picked at his food, occasionally smiling to people who walked past, and sometimes starting up small talk with them, but he couldn't find it in his heart to be truly happy as much as he tried to force himself to do so. _

"_Someone sure isn't acting like it's the most wonderful time of the year." Randy didn't have to look up to know that it was Jack standing next to him. He moved to take a seat and Randy whipped his head shooting him a curious glance. _

"_Don't you think things would be better if you didn't sit there? Because I'm almost positive that it's a bad idea." _

"_And why is it such a bad idea?" _

"_You know I'm with John. Why are you doing this to yourself? I love him." _

"_You deserve better." _

"_Oh and suddenly you're the expert on what I deserve?" _

"_Randy I-"_

"_No, don't. I seriously don't want to hear it. You know nothing about my relationship with John so don't sit here and try and tell me what's best for me. I know what's best for me and that's being with the man I love." _

"_Then where the hell is he Randy? He has to know what happened last night. But he's still not here. He knows how much all of this means to you, and yet he doesn't care. I know you like to go around pretending that his hate of all this Christmas is amusing to you, but I know how much it really gets to you. You're not happy now, you love everything about this holiday and you're not happy now. You'll probably never be fully happy around the holidays. How can you keep going on like that every Christmas? He's sucking the happiness out of you. It's not right, but all I can do is hope you break free before he kills your spirit completely. And when that day comes that it happens, I'll be here waiting." _

"I swear I'm going to fucking kill that kid!" Christmas Cody and Ted both flinched at John's tone.

"Well, we've done our part in showing you what can happen." Christmas Ted said as he pulled Cody towards him.

"Now it's your job to make things better. Good Luck." And with those last parting words they both slowly began to fade until there was nothing left.

John slowly began to feel himself fade until he could recognize being back sitting in his recliner in his living room.

His head snapped to the door when he heard a key being placed in the lock and the door slowly opening. Randy walked in; walked over to the tree, where he dumped the presents he had been carrying and turned when he felt John's eyes on him.

"Hey, I didn't expect you to be up this late, I figured you would have already gone to sleep. I went over to Jack's apartment to wrap the gifts since we ran out of boxes and wrapping paper yesterday."

"Wrapping gifts, huh? John said as he picked himself up out of his seat and slowly stalked over to Randy.

"Yeah, what's wrong baby? And why are you staring at me like that? You're starting to freak me out." Randy said as he took his coat off and hung it up on the rack.

"I can't believe you're going to stand here and lie to my face!"

"John, you're confusing me. What the hell are you going on about?"

"You kissed and did God knows what else with that Swagger kid! I can't believe you! You bitch me out about not liking Christmas, while you're going on prancing around with that fuckwit. I can't believe you!"

Randy was silent a first just staring blankly at John. Then it all seemed to hit him, and John could see the realization of what he said sink in. "John, I really don't need this right now. It's been a long day, I'm tired. Can we talk about this in the morning? Maybe when you've cooled off and we can actually discuss the situation?" Randy asked as he leant back against the wall.

"No, I don't want to talk about this in the morning. I want to talk about this now."

"I'm not going to do this with you now John. I'm going to sleep. I'll see you in the morning." And with those words Randy turned away from John and walked the short distance to the stairs slowly disappearing from John's sight as he climbed up them.

John stood trying to figure out what to do. He didn't know if he should chase after Randy and demand they talk about what may have happened or just leave it for the morning. He was angry. But even in his anger he knew it wouldn't do the situation any justice if he stormed after Randy and continued to yell at him. So he just took a deep calming breath before he returned back to his recliner. He kicked the bottom half up and closed his eyes cursing the Christmas Ted and Cody the entire time for making the holidays even more horrible than they already were.

* * *

><p>John was slowly stirred back into consciousness by a soothing hand running through his hair. When he opened his eyes he was met with Randy's staring back down at him. He was seated on the arm of the chair and was slowly running his fingers through John's hair. He gave John a small sad smile before he started talking. "John, I love you, but I can't ignore or deny the fact that I did something bad and wrong yesterday. I honestly have no clue what came over me, but I do know that it won't ever happen again and I regret it."<p>

John stared silently into Randy's eyes for what felt like an eternity for Randy until he finally replied. "I can't just go on pretending that it didn't happen, but I honestly don't even want to think about it. Every time I do I get filled with this rage and I just want to kill that damn kid. There's shit I can do about it now, so I guess I'll just have to accept your half-assed apology for now and make you grovel for forgiveness later and repay me in the form of crazy lots of sexual favors." John had sat up the previous night replaying the image in his head and thinking of all of the possible steps he could have taken in retaliation, but ultimately he knew it was mostly all due to Randy's stupid vulnerability due to the stupid holidays. He couldn't go back in the past and stop it from happening and Randy did want to be with him and not the Swagger kid.

Randy's smile progressed into an actual one and he slid of the arm of the chair and into John's lap. "Just imagine in approximately forty hours the worst of this holiday will be over for you and life can return to normal."

"You have no ideal how much I am looking forward to that."

"I already know what the answer is, but I'm going to ask again to humor myself. Are you sure you don't want to come to the dinner tonight with me? Even though I do know everyone, I would love to have my boyfriend as my date for the night."

"Hell no." Randy's face immediately fell at John's quick reply. "A, I really just don't want to go, at all, I'd rather watch paint dry than been around so many people falsely happy about Christmas. And B, I know that if I come into that close of contact with the Swagger Kid, I'm going to end up in jail."

"Okay, I have to go and run some errands real quick before it becomes a zoo out there, so I'll see you later." Randy placed a quick kiss on John's lips before he got up and flashed him a quick smile before he headed out of the door.

He wanted to feel bad about making Randy sad, but he really just didn't want to go, and part of him wanted to punish Randy for what he did. He figured Randy would get over it soon anyway. It was only a stupid dinner.

* * *

><p>Later that night John had only just shut the door behind Randy before he heard Christmas Ted and Christmas Cody appear.<p>

"Why won't you guys leave me alone?" John said as he walked right past them and made his way up the stairs and into his bedroom. He knew they were silently following behind him and they didn't speak until he sat on his bed and looked at him.

"Trust me, I would much rather not be here. I've said it all along that you're a lost cause, but Cody won't give up on it." Christmas Ted said uninterestedly as he picked at his nails.

"John," Cody started walking over to the bed and sitting down next to him. "Why didn't you go to the dinner? You know how much Randy wants you to be there with him. You also know how Jake isn't backing down either. He's your competition and it seems at this point that he's winning the race."

John scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Please, he's not winning the race. Hell, there is no race. Randy is mine. We've been together for five years. He's put up with my shit for this long, there's no turning back. I know him too well. He wants to be together forever and all of that other good stuff. Plus I already saw what's going to happen at the party. Swagger is going to try and steal Randy away again and Randy's going to turn him down. It's simple as that. At the end of the day, Randy's stuck with me. He loves me too much and he knows I love him. So don't try and make me worry over some stupid shit because I don't care."

Cody stared at John almost in a heartbroken way when he finished his rant. John swore he could see almost the beginning of tears in his eyes and stared back confused. "Why do you look like I just killed your dog?"

"Seriously, I swear I'm only doing this because for some odd reason he cares. Don't ask my why he cares, because I don't know. You're my best friend and I'm just about at the point of not caring." Ted said as he walked over and stood in front of John. "Now listen, what I'm about to show you is very important. It's a flash into the future, about one year from now to be exact. This is it. It's the very last thing we have up out sleeve. If you can't figure out what you have to do from this, you really don't deserve Randy."

Before John could question anything, things started to get blurry again. This time he was looking at a scene of him and Randy. It was weird looking at himself in the future. He was still damn hot of course.

_Randy stood in the living room decorating the huge Christmas tree in front of him quietly singing along to the Christmas tunes that played from his phone when John rushed into the room. _

"_Randy, there is no need for you to finish decorating that tree. I'd advise you find someone who doesn't have one yet and give it to them or just throw it out." John said as he stood nearly bouncing with excitement in the doorway. _

"_What are you talking about? You know I love having a real tree. Just let me finish this and then I'll get to whatever it is you want to do." _

_John walked into the room and grabbed Randy by his upper arms to stop him from continuing his decorating. "What if I told you that I booked us a trip to Hawaii this Christmas? I mean it's still in the states, so it'll still be the same type of Christmas? Just somewhere far away from here and without all the snow and other stupid things!" Randy stood in silence for about a minute and John took it as a sign of his excitement. "I know, shocked right? I figured it's the perfect way to spend this stupid time of year. So throw this thing out and get excited with me!" _

_Randy slowly dropped the decorations in his hands and a hollow clang ran through the house when they hit the floor. He then shrugged out of John's grip and slowly began pacing around the room. "Let me get this straight. You planned a flight and trip for us to spend Christmas in Hawaii?" _

"_Yes! I couldn't believe I hadn't thought of this before. I need to get the hell away from here during this time of the year and this is the best way to do it." _

"_John, you didn't even ask me before you booked everything." _

"_Ask you? What is there to ask? It's Hawaii. You love Hawaii." _

"_But it's also Christmas. I love Christmas too. All of my family and friends are here, not in Hawaii." _

"_So? You'll see them after Christmas. It's really not that big of a deal. They're not going anywhere." _

"_How could you not see that this would be a problem for me?" _

"_Because it doesn't need to be a problem. You're just blowing things out of proportion again. It's just one stupid holiday. You'll be here for the rest." _

"_It's not just a stupid holiday. It's the one that means the most to me and you know that. I love spending time with my family during Christmas. But I could have gotten over that. It's more of the fact that you didn't even ask me. You never take anything I might want or feel into consideration during this time of year! I do everything I can to make it enjoyable for you even though I know how much you hate it. I try so fucking hard, and you don't show and ounce of appreciation. All I get is more complaints about how unhappy and grumpy you are. Do you know how hard it is to be happy and get excited when you're constantly going on about how much you hate everything about something I love so much? You ruin it for me John. You really do. I can't be happy anymore. You suck it right out of me." _

"_Well excuse me then. Why don't you go and be with Mr. Christmas fucking Cheer. I'm sure he'll make you happy." _

"_What are you talking about John?" _

"_The Swagger kid. I'm sure he'll make you happy. He just loves Christmas, seems like you two are a match made in heaven." _

"_Why do you constantly bring him up? I told you I made a mistake and I haven't spoken to him since that night. That was a year ago John." _

"_I don't know. If all I do is bring you down maybe you should be with a guy who can make you happy."_

"_I thought I was with a guy who makes me happy!" _

"_Well maybe you thought wrong then Randy." _

"_Yeah, maybe I did John. Because this sure as hell isn't happiness." Randy said softly as he stared at John. When he got no response he sighed and gave John a sad smile. "I love you, but even that can't pull me out of this unhappiness and the feeling that maybe we just aren't meant to be together." _

As the scene faded John sat confused. "Wait, why did it end? What happened? I mean that's nothing, we argue sometimes, but we make up afterwards. We made up didn't we?"

"John, the scene ended because that is where as of now, your future ends with Randy." Christmas Ted said as he pulled Cody up off of the bed and into his arms.

"What do you mean my future ends with Randy?"

"You know what we mean John, now it's up to you to do all you can now to alter the future, or just accept it and continue acting how you act now. It's your call." Christmas Cody said. Then just as fast as they appeared, they were gone again.

John sat confused on the bed. He knew that his extreme dislike of Christmas did affect Randy. But he always assumed that come December 26th they would laugh it off and thing would go back to normal he never would have guessed that his seasonal grumpiness would tear them apart.

He loved Randy and couldn't begin to wrap his head around the possibility that in a years time they wouldn't be together.

There was no doubt in his mind that he had to fix things.

* * *

><p>Randy sat at the table alone picking at his food. He was trying his hardest not to look like being there was almost like having all of his wisdom teeth removed without any type of anesthesia, but he knew he was failing miserably.<p>

He missed his boyfriend. He wanted his boyfriend there with him. He wished his boyfriend wasn't such a dumbass and a sourpuss. His wished his boyfriend didn't affect or control his feelings as much as he did. His wished everything he was feeling didn't revolve around his boyfriend.

He felt someone standing behind him and he sighed. John was right for calling Jake, a kid. He never knew when to give up and just let things go for the moment. "Jake, I thought I told you it was best if we cut contact for now."

"I don't know if I should be pleased that you've cut contact with him, or pissed that you've confused me with that kid." Randy's hear just about leapt into his throat when he heard the voice. He slowly began to turn around to make sure he wasn't going crazy and was pleased to see it was actually John standing behind him.

John moved from behind him and into the vacated seat next to him. "What are you doing here? I thought you would rather watch paint dry?" Randy asked surprised and with a slight smirk on his face.

"Well there was no paint drying at home, so I figured I'd come here."

There was a silence between them for a brief second before Randy quickly spoke. "We don't have to stay here. We can leave if you want. I've exchanged our gifts and everything."

"No, I want to say."

"Seriously, I'm fine with leaving. It's no big deal really."

"Randy, stop lying. I know this is a huge deal to you. I want you to enjoy it and not worry about what I'm feeling. I don't feel the holiday cheer, and as much as I want to get excited about this, I just can't. But what I can do is stop shoving my grouchiness on to you. It's not fair of me. I want you to enjoy everything about these holidays. I love the way your eyes light up when you find the perfect gift of see someone open their gift. So I'm going to try and keep my grouchy comments to myself during this time of year. I would hate for something as benign as Christmas to tear us apart. I love you way too much to lose you."

Randy was once again shocked speechless. He just stared at John in amazement wondering where the change of heart came from. But he didn't want to question it. If John wanted to stop being a Grinch, he would gladly accept it. "I love you too. I can't begin to tell you how happy I am that you're here. It means a lot to me. Honestly."

"Come on, let's go mingle. I know you want to." John stood up and pulled Randy up, but before he could begin to walk off away from the table Randy stopped him. He went to ask him what was wrong, but before he could begin to open his mouth to form the words, Randy's lips were against his.

John eagerly returned the kiss as he wrapped his arm around Randy and pulled him closer so their bodies were flush up against each other's. When they were forced to break apart for air John smiled as he looked into Randy's eyes and saw pure happiness in them. They reluctantly broke apart, linking their hands together as they began to walk towards their friends.

But John didn't miss Christmas Ted and Cody standing in a corner seemingly invisible to everyone else in the room. Christmas Cody shot him an excited thumbs up and Christmas Ted just smiled. John mouthed them a silent thank you.

As much as he hated to admit it, they had saved his relationship and he was forever in their debt because of it. He couldn't imagine his life without Randy. Even if it had to be a life full of fugly ornaments, fuglier Christmas trees, and the fugliest sweaters he had ever seen. It would all be worth it if meant being with the man he loved.


End file.
